Maybe a few months ago, Tim reached out and asked if Embers wanted to get back together for a late summer gig. We got together in May to dust off some songs for our release party in June, and then was all done until earlier this month. We started getting together to rehearse for our reunion show, taking place last night.
Earlier this week, they said tickets were low and within the last day or so, the club was sold out! Two sell outs this year for me, that must be a first.
New dragon strap for the new bass
Saturday was spent playing with the new bass, testing out my new bass with my bass amps, heading to Guitar Center to buy a new strap for the bass, then waiting until it was time to head to Ballard for soundcheck as I was backlining my rig. So that meant leaving the house around 4:45 for a 5:30 arrival time.
Marci was coming, and I got her a guest spot, which was great as all sorts of people were hitting folks up for tickets. I had committed to getting Mike and Amy a couple passes because we love them and other issues, so my people were good. Had to do some gymnastics to get Ian in the room for photos as Will forgot to get him one. Luckily my new buds in Seola Station (Ruth) was able to make some magic happen as she purchased extras just in case she had people that wanted to go. Pro move!
Marci and I pulled up to the Sunset right behind Tim and Kay. I gave him a hug and quickly gave him an old Matchbox VW GTI I had. Since I no longer have a GTI, I figured he should have it as he bought one last year when he came into some $$. He and I both loaded in and then reparked our cars and we were good to go.
Imagine my surprise when I got there and Robb's little buddy, Chris, was there (sarcasm). I don't remember him in the previous Embers days, so this may have been his first show. He's just so squirmy, I don't. I am not trying to be mean; I just have no patience for him. As I was trying to get my amp on stage, he was just oddly in the way. Ugh.
Anyway, we set up for soundcheck. I brought my Avatar 212 and Orange Terror Bass. I was supplying bass backline stage right, by the bar and backstage entrance. I strapped up the new P bass and tried it out and immediately, low signal. It may have been the same input jack thing I had happen the other day. After jiggling it around, no change, so I busted out old Goldie and we got to work.
Soundcheck pic featuring the Professor
After soundcheck, Marci grabbed me to go to KAVU down the street, she wanted an opinion on a backpack she liked. She got it and then we went to dinner next door. Ran into Ben London there with his wife and son. He wasn't coming to the show as his son was leaving town the next day so we just said hi. After dinner, we grabbed a molten chocolate cake down the block and snapped a pic.
I was a bit antsy to get back to the club so I left Marci there to finish her treat and ran into Patrick, Kathy and Reb from Golden West. Having played with Kathy and Patrick before, it was nice to be on the same bill with them and their band. I had met Reb a few months ago at the Conor Byrne show and really liked her vibe and energy. Kathy snapped a pic!
After so many years of playing out, I'm finally feeling like I'm part of the scene. I know people, they know me and generally speaking, we like each other. It's really cool!
Finally I made it inside and got to catch a few songs by Seola Station. At soundcheck, when I thought I'd be offering my rig, I spoke with their bassist, Brian, who said he was gonna use his own rig as he likes being stage left and didn't want to move my stuff. Then he busts out the killer Mesa 12/15 mini stack and I figure that I'd want to use that if I had it too.
Epic rig!
Seola Station was cool. There's a description of their music as smoky and sultry, and that's pretty accurate. Ruth, the singer, was a knockout in heels, a slinky dress and really unique vocals. Low register, singing but almost spoken, very neat. Her band was tight and energetic as well. Really enjoyed what I saw and heard.
Seola Station
Marci and I did head backstage and chill for a bit, trying to get people to enjoy some cupcakes for Cass and Tim's birthdays. Her and I chopped it up with Patrick a bit, talking about backyard wildlife, of all things. I shared my Dodo the cat trauma from earlier this summer. It was just nice to chat and hang out and see our friends.
Hooray for cupcakes!
Hooray for Marci and I!
Pro stage plot diagram for Seola Station!
Golden West took the stage next, with Kim V on lead vocals, Patrick on slide, Kathy on lead guitar, Emily on rhythm guitar, Reb on bass and the great Aimee Zoe on drums. Watching her play was a joy, reminded me of my obsession with Anika Nilles. Same joy on her face as Anika's. Really cool! Reb played some great lines and the band was just fantastic. Marci and Emily talked for a bit before their set as she's from Cincinnati, so they talked about Riley's adventures out there, it was pretty funny.
Golden West!
During their set, I got to see a bunch of folks: Steve and Salena, Andi, Howie, Scott Woods, Pete Nordstrom, Dave Place, Lisa Gordon, Will Wiles, Dan Lancaster, Rob Dent, Ben Heege, Charles and Cindy, both Robb's sisters, Renee and Ruthie, Steve Schneider and Michelle from way back, maybe some others I'm forgetting. Just a love in, it was great!
Once GW got off the stage, we got setup and then had a band meeting like Tim likes to do. He gives a quick pep talk and then we jump back onstage and do our thing. All my stuff was working, from IEMs to wireless guitar and it was time to go. Hit the stage running with Game Changer, into Tomorrow, which we never played back in the day.
From Teddy Laabs
Both songs went pretty well. I could hear myself fine, it was the playing that was tough at first. I didn't really warm up and as soon as we started playing, I was just pumped. All the moving around makes it hard to pick accurately, but I think I was likely the only one that noticed. More missed notes than wrong notes, so that's good, I suppose.
For Cass' and Tim's birthdays, Robb and Darla bought some party favors and he passed them out to all the people, so after our 3rd song, Sideline, everyone sang them happy birthday and then blew the blowers. It was pretty sweet.
Happy Birthday to Cass & Tim!
Initially at practices, I was playing all the songs with pick, after never having done so in the past. It was fine, but on some of the slower songs, Break This Down, Pull, Road Song, I decided to go fingers. Same with Boom, though last night I switched to pick mid-song as it was just too fast and I couldn't keep up. I ended up doing Chimp with fingers as well, I think it just flows better.
Overall, pretty pleased with how we played. I think there were some clams here and there by all of us, but for our first show back, not too shabby. A bunch of great pix were taken, let's take a look. First up, Mike Mitchell's pix.
Next up, Howie Cohen's pix.
This might be my favorite picture of the night.
As of now, there are tons of pics of us but not a lot of videos. Funny thing, our friend Bob Mattson came out to shoot GoPro vids as he's done before. He got set up early and then went to dinner. Before long, Cass reached out to me to ask where Bob was. Apparently both SS and GW hired camera crews as well and they wanted the spots where Bob hid his cameras. He was kind enough to come back and accommodate them, but it was sort of a pain.
Speaking of videos, our pals Ted Laabs and Will Wiles posted vids. I'm expecting Bob's as well as Derrick's in the near future, as well as any more that may pop up.
As far as future SE shows go, nothing's in the books. We have talked about it and we feel good about more. As far as new music? Who knows? I know Tim has stuff he wants to bring in but we'll have to feel it out as a band and see how it is. I think we've all grown and if we can settle whatever happened in the past, there may be some hope. Especially if we can sell out shows on the regular? Maybe we play once or twice a year, make it a can't miss prop, vs a "we can catch them next month" type thing.
And now, that's a wrap on gigs. Nothing officially booked for me as of right now. Grooves may have something in a few weeks, more details on that soon, supposedly.
Big show at the Central as part of something called the Cloudbreak Festival. Evidently a group is putting on shows all over Seattle during November. I guess the hook is any tourist staying in a participating hotel gets free admission to the club or something. Good for bands,we all get paid, but with so many great shows, it sort of cannibalizes itself.
Last night while we were playing, across town was Smokey Brights playing one of two nights at the Tractor, and then Riffbrokers and Braly/Sangster playing at Tim's. Other bands in other venues as well, so we were a little iffy on how many people might show.
The Central has turned it around the past few years. It's actually a cool place to play again, but the Pioneer Square location is a little sketchy at times, though I've never had problems there. I love it also because it's the closest club to home, about 20 minutes to get there. I found great parking and in I went about 6:30.
I brought the Hog and Goldie, variations on a theme. I spent some time earlier getting tones dialed in and ultimately liked what I heard. I set my Spark Booster to be a clean signal and matched the output on my Tone Hammer so that when AGS was switched off, I had the same output. However, if I had SB on with AGS, it would push a little harder.
At the Central, they had a GK amp and 410 that I used. Once we got it on stage, I got dialed in and was pleasantly surprised at how it sounded. Last time we played there, almost 2 years ago, I used the same rig, but with the old T-bird and I did not like how it sounded and couldn't get comfortable. I also used my IEMs with Planets for the first time. The sound guy gave me the monitor signal and it actually worked out really well. I think I've been getting used to hearing more definition on my bass from using IEMs at SG practice. I may need to try doing it at Robb's house too, as having the IEMs and some ambient stage sounds bleed through via the wedges and amp at the Central was a nice combo.
Terrible red lighting
As we got dialed in, the other bands showed up. We thought the club would backline, but both bands brought drums. Dragontail Peak (love that name) brought a bass rig of doom, a 410 and 115, powered by an Ampeg something or other. Jim from The "NO" 3 brought an Orange head, but used the house cab.
Speaking of TN3, it is always cool to play with local legends. Kurt B. on guitar and vocals, Jim on bass, with his Ric, and then Dan Peters from Mudhoney on drums. I've played with Kurt and Jim before, but never Dan, so that was cool.
Anyway, before long we got started. 10 songs and 42 minutes later, we were done. I think we played quite well, with a couple of goofs at times. Robb went into his guitar solo a little early in the first song, but Cass and I were able to latch on and follow along. He did something early again in Panic Attack, so Cass and I had to watch each other and count through the bars.
Tone-wise, I really liked what I heard in my IEMs. Vocals for me were nice and bright, but as the gig continued, I had a harder time hearing myself, not sure what that was about. I did set my phone up to record on the side and after the show, I took a look and we sounded pretty good. Really good performance.
Off stage, I had an old friend/co-worker show up, so her and I chatted for nearly all of the Dragontail Peak gig. I didn't even get a picture of them, but tried to listen during our convo and what I heard was blusey, articulate, precise and a little proggy. They have a video online from Darrell's that didn't well represent what I heard last night. I don't even know if it was the same dudes. But they were tight and sounded good.
Side note: was great to chat with Whitney. She is one of the OG's from the MS Store and we've kept sort of in touch over the years. Her husband, Taylor, has been to a few shows, and now it was her turn. I know how tough it can be to get out with 2 little ones, so for her to show up by herself in her badass leather jacket and lookin' tough, was appreciated. Loved seeing her.
We were also graced by Tim, fresh off his tour with Duff McKagan in Europe and the US. He just played a triumphant show on Wednesday at the Showbox and I'd asked him to come, but wasn't sure if he would. Turns out, he and Kay came, as well as Muzz. I'd seen Tim a few times and talked with him on the phone a bit, but this was his first time seeing Planets and he said we were great. We all had a great time catching up outside and hearing his tour stories, as well as a really cool life update that we couldn't be happier about. Just great stuff. Talking about dusting off some Embers stuff in 2025, so we'll see how that goes.
After chatting, we went in and caught the last couple songs of TN3. I could hear a bit outside and it sounded great, but inside it was loud and muddy. I would have liked to have heard more songs, but catching up with Tim was worth it.
The "NO" 3
All in all, another great night. Playing live music, seeing old friends, hearing wonderful tunes, can't wait to do it again.
Next up: Sunset Grooves at the Aurora Borealis. Stay tuned.
Enjoying my coffee on a Saturday morning, thinking about music and bass. My last show was a few weeks ago now, with PITO at Slim's. Still thinking about how these last two shows with that band have gone well, but with lower turnout than I'm used to.
Having the luxury (for me, at least) playing in a semi-successful band was a welcome change after having only ever played a handful of shows with more than a handful of people at them. When I joined Stereo Embers in 2018, my first show with them was in June, at the Sunset. I'd be lying if I said I remembered a full house, but if it wasn't a full house, it was at least 75% full.
This band introduced me to many new friends, most of whom I'd never met before. Having Tim in the band really helped put us on the map, especially with the Pearl Jam crew. Those fans are rabid for anything PJ related and having Mike McCready wear our shirts and put out our records (all before my time, sadly) got us on the fans' radar.
As SE built their following, the PJ fans started coming out. They pretty much all became SE fans, and especially Tim and Robb fans, and I was able to join that club when I started in the band.
Over the next few years, we played more shows, but did get hit with the COVID shutdown, where we just stopped for 18 months. In all those shows pre- and post-shutdowns, they were well attended. Actually, we had one show at El Corazón on a weeknight, opening for an old hard rock guy (Graham Bennett?), where we didn't have many people there, but overall, they were well attended.
And now, with PITO, we are starting over. Our first show was at the Sunset and we had a good turnout, but it felt light to me. Part of it can probably be attributed to first show jitters, new music, etc. Everything has been revamped, all the way down to number of people on stage. Not having Tim by me meant having to bring the energy and vibe when Robb was tethered to the mic.
Our next show at Slim's a few weeks ago was pretty sparsely attended. Maybe 20-30 people there? We were outside so it definitely looked light. But, there were tons of bands playing that night and Slim's is a bit out of the way. Also, that weekend, I90 westbound was shut down so it's possible people stayed away from traveling because of that.
Anyway, people know about PITO and we have connections. We have to go out and prove it now and with Cass doing Love Battery, it being summer winding down, and other issues, gigs seem to be hard to come by these days. Our next gig isn't until Jan 6, but hoping to get something lined up between then and now.
We did some demo tracks at last rehearsal and hope to be able to put those out for consumption soon, get the word spread that we are progressing. Here's the rough tracks, straight to my phone. I played my L1K for the first time at PITO practice, along with my new Orange Terror Bass amp. Sound was overdriven and gnarly. Robb recorded with a mic right at my cab (no DI), and it sounds pretty great.
Today was studio day for Planets in the Ocean. Robb, Cass and I have been working the past several weeks on some songs to play at a free recording day at Robert Lang Studios. They are an actual studio, but they also teach recording classes there and in exchange for our time playing a song or two, they would record us for free.
Last Saturday was the original date, but due to band member illness, we postponed to today. We got a chance to play through the songs on Thursday and headed over this morning. Joining us was our friend Jeff Barlow, aka @drawitinone over on Instagram. His schtick is to draw a band in the span of one song. He and I have become friends over the last year or so and I invited him to join and capture the moments.
As with any studio day, it's a lot of show up and wait. As we had students in the house (all adults, but new to recording), we had to wait for them to get set up. We showed up around 11, they started setting up, we probably started playing at 12:30.
Today was my third time recording at Bob Lang Studios. The place is super unique. It's like the Bat Cave. Picture a large home on a hill. You enter at the bottom of the hill, in what looks like a standard door. However, behind that door, about 20-30 feet, lies a professional recording studio. Real bands have recorded there. Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Presidents of the USA, Soundgarden, AIC, etc, etc. I recorded some instrumental tracks there in the mid-90s with While Away, and then again a few years with Stereo Embers. This time, though, with PITO, the songs will see the light of day and we will put some effort behind promoting it.
Anyway, we were slated to play one song today, called "Splinter." Couldn't tell you what it was about but apparently the lyrics were written by Robb's friend Jake Uitti, a local writer that Robb's been in bands with through the years. It's a cool little indie tune and I played my Thunderbird on it, pick style.
Not only are these songs new to us/me, I'm still working on figuring out my parts and what I'll be playing. Luckily, the song isn't terribly difficult, but still, trying to see what works and what doesn't.
Cass started the song with a tribal tom beat, Robb singing indie lyrics and playing guitar, and I was playing fifths, D to G. Very basic. Nice woolly sound on my T-bird, but after playing a few times and getting a drum take, I ended up switching to the L1k because I wanted to use the Hipshot to drop to a low D at the end of the tune.
I did a take on the L1K in the control room and it ended up being great. Fat and full, even with the rough mix. Robb did a few vocal passes and within a couple hours of starting, we had captured what we wanted for "Splinter."
The engineer, Kevin, and his student, Chris, then asked if we wanted to do another song, as we had all day in the studio, so we jumped back in the main room and dialed up a song called "Decisions." Similar situation for me as on the first song. Still feeling my way and trying to remember changes, etc. We played through a few times while they were recording and ended up keeping most of one of the takes. Robb called my name at one point to call out a change and we left that in the recording. I really dug in with the pick on the T-bird this time and really REALLY dug the tone I got. Pretty aggressive and angular and will work well in the mix.
I ended up being pretty busy on the take, removing whatever handcuffs I put on myself when I was in Embers. Tim was always saying "less is more," and stuff like that, but sometimes, I took it too literally and really neutered a lot of what I played to fit what he thought we should sound like. For this project though, I'm trying to play for the song. "Splinter" was chill and basic at the beginning. For "Decisions," I just played. I didn't over think it and we ended up using a take that had some cool runs and a few weird moments on it as well.
After getting the music done, we did quick mixdowns and I think we are all pretty pleased. The previous sessions at Lang's was fun, but there was some drama. Tim was having some issues with something and just had a weird time at the studio. Musically, we were trying to figure things out as the songs weren't quite ready and it was just weird energy the whole time. And then we booked a show to put the music out and it ended up being canceled due to COVID. So those songs never got a real chance to grow.
Now that we have the PITO project, new and improved energy, and no worry about the "brand" of the band or any reputations to protect, we are feeling good. The studio was so FUN today. We were handing out suggestions to each other, really talking and listening and just being a band. Really looking forward to playing some more tunes and going to another studio (London Bridge/Sangster's/Bob Lang again) in the future.
Got to play through the Ampeg mini-fridge...
until it was deemed too noisy. But still big sounding.
On a rare day at the actual office, I got a message from Kathy Moore asking if I'd play bass with her on Saturday.
This Saturday. As in three days from yesterday.
Of course I told her yes. Only problem was she had no drummer. Both Faith and Alyssa were going to be out of town supporting their other band, Acid Tongue. I suggested Robb as he does play drums, but he's out of game shape so he declined. Then I paged Gregg Anderson, who is fresh off some studio time and is in game shape, and he agreed to do it.
Kathy then got in touch with both of us and we started getting the details. We'd be playing her Super Power Trio stuff, opening for a guy named Hector Tellez, Jr., out of Cuba? I watched a few videos but didn't get a feel for him other than he's smokin' guitarist. What's interesting is he's being supported by Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Barrett Martin from the Screaming Trees. The bassist is a guy named Dune Martin, who I saw play with General Mojo's and I think he was in Duke Evers (?) and he's a beast on bass.
Another interesting tidbit, of course, is Gregg and I have never played with Kathy. I don't know if Gregg even knew who Kathy was before. Plus, Gregg and I haven't played together since right before I got together with Stereo Embers, so over 4 years ago now.
Nevertheless, it will be a fun gig. I've seen KMSPT several times and they always deliver and it will be an honor to stand in for Alyssa (who is also a beast on bass). We are practicing tomorrow in Seattle, at Tim's shared space. We should get a good feel for each other then, and then we light it up on Saturday night in Tacoma at Jazzbones.
Kathy has booked me for 7/22 also, the night before Planets debuts at the Sunset, which is the night before I travel to Boston for work. It's gonna be a busy July!
Welp, that's a wrap. Just after 4 years of joining my band, we called it a day last night at the Sunset.
There are some dynamics involved as to why the band is no more, but to me, it had run its course and the pandemic and lockdown certainly didn't help. But this is about the gig, not why we stopped.
We had this gig planned for March of '20, and then it got put on pause, and then the Sunset remodeled and then pushed us back from December until last night. I showed up at load in time (5:30) as we were backlining our gear and wanted a sound check as well. We were headlining and had a solo act (Caleb Thompson) and band (Kathy Moore Super Power Trio) playing before us.
Setup was pretty breezy. I brought my usual rig and my black P and L1K. I learned the night before that I'd be sharing my rig with a local bassist named Julie Slick. The regular bassist in KMSPT was out sick and Julie was called upon to play. I looked her up and, guys, she's what I call a "professional musician." She has gigs and plays with artists we've all heard of. I searched her here and she's been mentioned a few times on this site. I also checked her on YouTube and was floored by how she played. Pickstyle on a Lakland DD (I think) and just shredding that thing to bits. Super technical and fast and wow, just great.
After setup, it was to a burger joint down the street (Great State Burgers). Very good and greasy. I added the caramelized onions for .50, no pictures, though.
Back to the club and a nice turnout was happening as it was our last show. And maybe first show since the lockdown for many clubgoers. We had some old friends fly in from as far as Tennessee and Arizona to see us play, that was pretty cool. The opener was an old soul; it looked like he rode in on a horse-drawn carriage. Sadly, no pix of him, but if you saw The Power of the Dog, imagine someone from that era. Voice as clear as a bell, effortless fingerstyle on acoustic guitar. Really excellent.
Following Caleb came KMSPT. We have played with them several times and they never fail to excite. As mentioned earlier, their usual excellent bassist had to sit out and, well Julie just killed it. Seriously, look her up.
As my drummer, Cass, and I watched them, their drummer, Faith, kept looking over and shrugging and mouthing, "I'm sorry," about something. After all, she was playing Cass' kit. Once they were done, I helped her off the stage as her hands were full and she mentioned that she had hit her finger on a drum and cut it, which caused her to splatter blood all over the snare and floor tom. It was pretty epic, not gonna lie. No pictures of that, sadly.
I had a friend come out who records some shows, and has recorded some of ours as well. What bass is to us, videography appears to be to him. He brought something like 8 GoPros, stands, clamps, etc. He had a little rig to clip on the end of my P bass. Due to that, I ended up opening the show with the P and swapping to my L1K a few songs in. The camera really messed up the balance of the P, but it was manageable. I just had to make sure not to whack anyone or anything with it.
People were super excited to see/hear us. The new stage at the Sunset is bigger and sounds fantastic. We played SUPER LOUD and it was almost too much (even with earplugs), but we soldiered on. Literally the 3rd note I played was wrong and overall, it was a pretty sloppy night, despite practicing twice this week. I really amp up the physicality of playing when I'm on stage and that can cause some problems at times. Also, my hair gets in my face and makes it hard to see, but overall, I think the performance was pretty solid.
We played 16 songs, which is the most we've ever done. Even that amount makes me realize what a marathon it would be for bands doing sets that last a couple hours. Gotta pace yourself!
The videos I've seen from the crowd made me feel good about the bass sounds I got from my stuff. Signed a few posters after the show (always weird to me), talked to a lot of friends old and new, and made a few bucks too.
Onto the pictures! Outside the Sunset. Fresh new green room at the Sunset. My stuff and setup. Merch stand. KMSPT Julie Slick and her matching white Lakland.
